


as the world caves in.

by loveworn



Category: The Wilds (TV 2020)
Genre: Character studies, F/F, SPOILERS INSIDE !!, all i can say is i'm sorry, biblical imagery for some of these, pls enjoy i tried, they're just little snippets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:34:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28460982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveworn/pseuds/loveworn
Summary: "This is your Eden."A collection of short snippets of the journies of the Unsinkable Eight, with a bonus snippet for Jeanette/Linh.
Relationships: Shelby Goodkind/Toni Shalifoe
Comments: 7
Kudos: 41





	as the world caves in.

_**LEAH.** _

They say that the body is a house, it keeps the soul safe until it is time to travel on. But your house is burning dear girl. It is raging and destroying, soot settles on the most prized parts of yourself, and you ran out of cleaning rags long ago. You grip them tightly, there is no bin in sight, no way to discard the evidence.

And then the worst happens, so much worse than what you thought was the lowest moment of your life, and you lose again. You lose your home, your family, it is now so far away, and the rags stay. But hands appear, and they take them from your iron grip.

And maybe, just maybe, the rains can wash the soot clean, tame the fire. Maybe your house can be yours once more, the taint of him removed.

-

**_DOT._ **

You lost it, you lost it. The one thing that mattered, he's gone. And you have spent so long living for him you don't know anything else anymore. You left that behind so long ago, and your world became so small. Your world became that house, those rooms. And they were so beautiful, and he was so beautiful a shooting star. And now somewhere, he is fishing for the stars.

Your world has to contain stars now, the sky is where you can spot him if you look hard enough. But the sky becomes blistering and harsh, and is this what he meant when he said the world would come calling? To you, it feels more like screaming, a death rattle no matter where you turn. But you see him, a silent confirmation in a green flash at sunset.

Nothing in this life is free, but your world has become so much bigger than a house, than rooms, and it is calling. All you have to do is answer.

-

**_FATIN._ **

Everything was set up for you, and then it fell, dominos in a row. You just wanted to do the right thing, you wanted to bathe in the warmth of sunshine without the shadow of wrongdoing. You have worked so hard, doing everything they wanted, but it is still not enough. Would it ever have been enough? You don't know anymore.

So you shut down, allow someone else to be in control, you clearly can't be trusted with control anymore. And then the weight of expectation breaks you once more, and a waterfall becomes the glue that pulls you together once more. 

And one by one, the switches flick back on, a complicated system returning to life. You are more than your father. You will be more. You will be better.

-

**_RACHEL._ **

The world has tried to drown you. So many times. Like Noah and the flood, you built your own ark, and you sailed away. You sailed away from your reality, too painful to accept, waves breaking beneath your bow, you became more. You had to become more.

But now there is a hole in your ship, and you are sinking once more. There is no life jacket insight, there is no life guard here to pull you out when the water begins to fill your lungs. You have a choice to make darling, and there is no time to waste. You choose neither sink nor swim. 

You anchor yourself to an island. Sinking or swimming never ended well for you, and it is time to build something new.

-

**_SHELBY._ **

This is your Eden, and she is the snake. She holds all the knowledge you have sought for years, the secrets of acceptance, the secret to knowing you are perfect, and you need it so much. You need to know without a doubt you are made in His image, that you are as beautiful as the creations around you.

But hatred has taken root within your throat, weeds sprout from your mouth every time you try to talk, a vine constricting your best tool. And finally, you reach up, and you grab it, tug and choke as you begin to care for the Eden within you, and you learn to plant the horrible decay within you.

After all, weeds can grow into something beautiful too.

-

**_TONI._ **

You are gunpowder. A lit stream of it. Always so close to the fuse, always so close to destroying everything in your path. A gunpowder plot that never fails to succeed, but is it success to cause destruction? You thought you would know better, thought you could mend where your biological family broke, maybe this is that family gift that people talk about. Some get eye colours, some get noses, and you get the ability to shatter things with a simple touch.

You don't want to shatter Martha, you are so tired of watching things shatter, you know every time, but there is something pulling you towards destruction every time. And then it's there, finally, a moment you have looked for your entire life, an answer you could never find before. Shelby. 

And that wall of self-hatred needs breaking, and you have sledgehammers for hands.

-

**_MARTHA._ **

You grew up on stories, as ancient as the Earth, your history is woven into your being. And you believe nothing bad ever happens. And it does, and you don’t understand until you are much older. You don’t understand this violence is common for women like you, the women on your reservation may be taken from you before their time, and you are not ready to accept these truths. You are not ready to let go of a world where nothing bad ever happens.

This, even, is not the worst thing. You already lived the worst possible thing, and you survived. And you will survive this too. But so much has been taken from you, and it was never your fault, you never shouldered the blame. But the truth tastes so bitter as you swallow it in shredded chunks, the grease of horror and tragedy taints your lips as it sticks in your throat.

A world where nothing bad ever happens. And you are the architect.

-

**_NORA._ **

The world was always so vivid through your eyes, information puzzle pieces that you slotted together to make beautiful pictures. And then, him. And you cannot slot him together, you don’t need too, he is a beautiful picture without your input. You feel seen, finally, and he helps you slot yourself together, helps you understand you are more than weird. But it falls apart. You have been told your whole life to live up to standards, to date someone normal, someone acceptable. And your sister tells you he is not. And so you let him go, but you hate it from the moment it happens.

It breaks you, you think. You try to see it in a beautiful way, a bird caged within a body may no longer sing from lips, but you hear his song within everything, the sun and the clouds, the way trees sway in the breeze, even the air in your lungs. And she tells you that you can create a better world, try and make sure that his story is never repeated. But it is hell, a hell on earth. And how could this help anyone?

He would hate you now, you know that. She will hate you soon too. But this vivid world is harsh, abrasive, and you are the one that put them there.

-

**_LINH._ **

You fight for her. Who you were, that innocent girl who deserved so much more, who deserved a justice you will never see. You bring your knives to a gunfight, and you win every single time. But now, you need a gun at a knife fight. And it is unfamiliar, it is unwelcome, but it will create something so much more, a little discomfort is worth it, right? You will pave the way for all those innocent girls to have freedom they desire, that they deserve.

But this is not freedom. The truth shocks you, and you think it is the rage that bubbles below your surface. You cannot make this right now, you don't know what happens if they know the truth. All you can strive for is safety, so you try and obtain it for them, and that rage bubbles closer and closer.

And finally, as a phone is found, that rage bubbles over. And it takes you with it. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed, this show has been taking over my life.


End file.
